


Green Thumb

by Its_Raineing_Words



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Anxious Thorin, Bilbo is So Done, Dwarf & Hobbit Cultural Differences, Gardens & Gardening, Gen, Gen Work, King Thorin, One Shot, Slightly - Freeform, Tension, Thranduil Not Being An Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:38:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Its_Raineing_Words/pseuds/Its_Raineing_Words
Summary: Bilbo finally gets to show off what he’s good at, gardening.





	Green Thumb

**Author's Note:**

> So I haven’t posted anything in a while, I would say it’s because of all my work but in truth it’s only partially because of that. The other half in my own laziness. Hopefully this offering helps.

Bilbo rubbed his forehead in pure exasperation as he watched the Dwarves he had quested and fought great evil with laid low.  
“How in Durin’s name are we going to impress that git Thranduil when all he seems to care about is flowers?” Dwalin complained, slapping his hand hard against the massive oak table Thorin had taken to using for all his meetings.  
Balin looked over to his brother and sighed, “We don’t need to impress him, we just need to get this agreement sorted.”  
Thorin, who had been glaring out of the window for the past few minutes, finally spoke up, “It amounts to the same thing. Erebor as it stands now is still a very new kingdom and we need to assert ourselves as capable of anything-even those gaudy, floral displays he’s so fond of, for him to treat us seriously. We need him to treat us seriously so that we can get this agreement finished,” he trailed off for a second, scratching his beard which he had finally let grow, “Besides I want to impress him, he should never be able to look down his nose at our people or our Kingdom ever again.”  
“So gaudy, floral display is it…” Balin sighed, “if all we needed were some potatoes I could just send for some from the farms but I don’t think there’s anyone in the entire mountain that grows flowers.”  
Thorin scowled and Bilbo bit his lip to avoid sniggering, he thought about letting them try to puzzle this out themselves but decided that was just too cruel.  
“Excuse me?” He had to cough loudly to get their attention but he was used to that by now, “When exactly are we expecting Thranduil?”  
“Four months from now,” Thorin replied, grimacing, “Still far too soon for my taste…”  
“In that case I can help you! All I’ll need is a decent sized plot of land with sunlight, some seeds and preferably fertiliser-though that is optional and water, of course.” He said, already thinking about the best flowers to grow and whether Dale would have anything he could use.  
“You mean you’re gonna grow them yourself!” Dwalin said, looking more than slightly shocked.  
“Yes...it is what us Hobbits good at, in case you don’t remember from when you were in Hobbiton.”  
“That certainly is true, though are you sure you’ll be able to grow enough?” Balin asked.  
“It depends on how much you want.”  
Balin looked crestfallen and groaned, “I have no idea. Enough to impress Thranduil?”  
“That’s hardly an amount!” Bilbo snorted, partially amused, partially annoyed.  
“I think we’ll leave it to you, then. Since you seem to know what you’re doing,” Thorin cut in, effectively ending the conversation there.  
“If you say so…” He trailed off uncertainly, “I don’t want you yelling at me if I get it wrong, though.”  
“I hardly think you could get it more wrong than we would!” Balin cut in and though he was chuckling Bilbo knew he was deadly serious, he was the only one who could impress Thranduil and the only way to do that would be through flowers. He suddenly felt he had been tasked with a gravely important mission, like the heros in the books his mother used to read to him as a child. Well, luckily for them he was a Hobbit and if there was one thing Hobbits knew it was flowers. 

He got to work quickly, making a trip down to Dale the next day with a group of guards to pick up as many flower seeds as he could lay his hands on, all at the expense of the Crown, of course. To say that the people of Dale were surprised when Bilbo came down with ten Dwarves to buy nearly every single seed and potted plant that was being sold would be an understatement to say the least. Bard even took some time out of his work to come and ask Bilbo what he was doing.  
“I’ve been asked by Thorin to grow some flowers and unsurprisingly there aren’t any in the mountain so I came here to buy some,” Bilbo explained.  
Bard snorted, completely shocked that King Thorin would request for flowers in the mountain which went against everything he’d been taught about Dwarves, “I would say three wagons full is more than just some.”  
“Well...I haven’t managed to fill all three yet, I think I may have to come back another day for more seeds. I do have enough to get started, however,” Bilbo reassured him, completely oblivious to the odd look Bard was giving him.

While he did have more than enough seeds to get him started there weren’t a massive variety of flowers, certainly not the amount which would surely be needed to impress Thranduil. That meant that Bilbo had to venture out into the woods to find more flowers, Thorin wasn’t happy about him venturing out into the woods alone as he felt it was dangerous but Bilbo persuaded him that there was no point issuing him with a guard unit for what was essentially a jaunt through the forest and Thorin reluctantly agreed.

Bilbo walked under the sea of trees for a good hour, feeling more relaxed than he had done in months and he thought to himself that spending all that time underground wasn’t good for his Hobbit constitution. There were lots of different flowers and he found himself wandering off of the path in order to collect a particularly brightly coloured flower. This meant that what he had anticipated to be a short trip into the edges of the woods to collect a basket of flowers soon turned into him wandering further and further into the woods and soon enough he found that the ground underneath him was no longer that with no grass due to the amount of footfall and had turned into lush grass and leaves and branches. The trees were becoming more dense too and soon Bilbo had no idea which direction he had come from or where indeed the path was. A slow burning fear trickled and ebbed up his torso and settled in his chest and all of a sudden he felt very vulnerable, he knew that the forests surrounding Erebor were nothing like the ones in Hobbiton. In Hobbiton the most dangerous thing you could encounter would be a hunter’s trap or a poisonous mushroom but here...he had heard the stories. Dwarves would enter the forest and be driven out. The sheer fact that it was so close to Mirkwood was also something that Bilbo kicked himself for not thinking of, was it really so preposterous to think that some of the horrific monsters that made their home in Mirkwood would’ve made their way here as well? A twig snapped and Bilbo’s breath stopped, he hadn’t moved. 

In the end, though, he wished he had listened to Thorin when he found himself confronted by a gigantic and extremely irate boar, so that had been what had broken that twig.  
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” He hissed as he felt along his belt for Sting only to realise he’d left it in his quarters, “I don’t suppose you’d leave me alone if I backed off very slowly?” When he did just that the boar snorted loudly and began to charge, “Thought not.”  
With that he took off running; while he was ahead of the boar for the moment he held no illusions about which one of them had more stamina, he needed an idea and fast. Just ahead of him he saw a tree with a branch that he could reach, a very rare thing indeed given his stature and the height of the majority of the trees in the forest. Bilbo grabbed the branch and pulled himself up, fueled by fear. He quickly climbed further up the tree, not wanting to take any chances.

Once he had climbed a good way up the tree all there was to do was wait with baited breath as the boar paced around, snorting angrily. Eventually the boar left and Bilbo was alone again, though now he had another problem. How on Arda was he meant to get down? Getting up the tree had been one thing in his terrified haze but getting down was another. The tree he was in was fairly thin and young and so most of the branches wouldn't support his weight and the ones that looked like they could were too far apart for him to reach safely. Then again it wasn't as though he could just jump down, he had climbed a good fifteen feet in his panic and though Hobbits were sturdy they weren't sturdy enough to fall that far without some kind of serious injury.  
“Oh Eru,” He muttered, hands scrabbling to get a better hold on the trunk of the tree, “save me.”  
Bilbo stayed up that tree for a good ten minutes trying to figure out a way to get down safely, far too scared to take any risks with the more flimsy looking branches. It was only only when he started to see orange light reflecting through the canopy of the trees that he knew he had to get down now or he never would, after all there was no way he’d be able to climb down the tree in the dark, not to mention how he’d find his way out of the forest. The first branch held under his feet as did the second, feeling more confident he lowered himself down onto the third when it bowed under his weight and his hands slipped from the branch he had been holding on to. He didn't even have time to scream as he plummeted the ten feet down to the ground. 

Bilbo knew he must have his eyes closed as he couldn't see anything and the only thing he was aware of for a long while was the pain in his leg. Then there was the feeling of a root under his back and he knew he’d have a bruise from where he’d landed on it and his head was spinning from where he’d hit it against the ground. Before he knew it fat tears were rolling down his face though he didn’t cry out. He forced his eyes open to look at his leg; his whole body was scratched from the branches he’d caught on the way down, though his legs had taken the worst of it. The scratches weren’t what scared him though, it was the unnatural angle his right leg was. He knew without a doubt he’d broken his leg, never mind what other injuries he may have. He also knew he needed to get back to Erebor soon, he’d been a fool for going out into the forest so late and now it was nearly dark. 

With only the vaguest idea of the way out Bilbo set off walking with the help of a large stick he’d found. He cried the whole time as he walked as the pain of having to move his leg, regardless of how little weight he was putting on it, was more pain than he’d experienced in a long time. As he left the forest, panting with exhaustion and pain he saw what to his desperate eyes looked like an Ereborian guard.  
“Help! Help!” He yelled, voice hoarse. The figure moved slightly, “Please help me!”  
The figure started to run towards him and as they drew closer Bilbo could see their armour, he had been right.  
“Master Baggins,” The guard said as soon as he was close enough to speak, “His Majesty has sent out search parties for you, we’ve been looking many hours.”  
Bilbo sagged against his stick, feeling any remaining energy leave him all at once, Thorin would not be pleased. 

The guard, Njarli, Bilbo had found out his name to be, ended up carrying him all the way to the mountain which made Bilbo turn the same colour as his prizewinning tomatoes. When they reached the gates a group of guards came rushing out to meeting them headed up by Dwalin.  
“Bilbo! What’ve you been doing, lad?” Dwalin questioned and Bilbo was promptly switched from Njarli’s arms to Dwalin’s no matter how much he tried to reassure them that he could walk one look at his leg had Dwalin shaking his head and shouting something in Khuzdul to one of the guards.  
“Well what I was going to say when you refused to put me down was that I had gone out into the woods to look for suitable flowers. And I have some! See?” With that he awkwardly fished into the bag at his hip and pulled out some very sorry looking flowers. They were pale blue but as Bilbo held them they turned red like the sunset, “Oh! I hadn't noticed that before, how peculiar.”  
Dwalin shrugged as best as he could with a Hobbit in his arms as he began to walk back towards the city, flanked by his platoon, “Aye, those plants grow all over the forest though I don't suppose many except us Dwarves know about them. When Erebor stood we protected the forest well and once it’d fallen it was far too close to Smaug for anyone to venture in,” He snorted, “And those who did weren’t likely to pick a little flower.”  
“Oh...well that's good, then. If Thranduil doesn't know about these flowers then he’ll certainly be surprised by them...though come to think of it given how long he’s lived chances are he knows about them already,” Bilbo hummed to himself, “Still, it’s a pretty flower regardless.” 

As they made their way into Erebor Bilbo soon realised they weren’t heading towards his chambers.  
“Dwalin?”  
“Aye?”  
“Where are we going?”  
“Where’d you think?” He said sardonically.  
“To the palace?”  
“Exactly, Thorin’s been worried sick about you...which reminds me-Njarli! Go and tell Oin to make his way to palace-he should still be in the infirmary and Mjarli, run ahead to the palace and let the King know we’ve found Master Baggins.”  
Both Dwarves saluted before rushing off and Bilbo realised they must be brothers, the names were a big clue as well as the fact that they were spit of each other with the same fiery hair and green eyes. 

Dwalin kept a good pace and they made their way to the palace quickly but Mjarli must have been quicker as Kili greeted them at the gates.  
“Where’ve you been, Bilbo? Uncle’s not happy at all, Fili’s trying to calm him down but it’s not really been working so far...”  
“What? I expected he’d be a little annoyed but surely not that angry,” He grumbled, “Also, Dwalin? Put me down, I'm fine, honestly.”  
Dwalin reluctantly put him down and Bilbo used the stick he’d found in the forest to support his weight as he moved past Kili and into the palace, after all there was no point in running from his problems. 

It took a while to get to Thorin’s rooms where he was waiting but Bilbo was only halfway there when he saw Thorin practically sprinting down the corridor to meet him.  
“What were you thinking?!” Thorin yelled, “How could you have been so stupid? I told you of the dangers and you didn’t listen to me and now look at you.”  
Bilbo balked, “Are you being serious right now? I was out there getting flowers for you, you self centered arse! Yes, it was stupid that I hurt my leg and yes I shouldn't have gone by myself but you have no right to act so upset when I was just doing what you told me to.”  
“I did not tell you to go out there like an idiot and get hurt,” He retorted, scowling at Bilbo.  
“Well…” Bilbo went on before stopping himself, “please, can we not talk about this for the moment? I really need to sit down.”  
With that Thorin took one look at Bilbo’s scratched and swelling leg and took an involuntary half step towards him, hands momentarily clenching into fists, “Dwalin, take him into my chambers, they’re the closest,”  
“Will do,” he replied, scooping Bilbo up into his arms again much to his frustration.  
“How long until Oin gets here?”  
It wasn't Dwalin who replied, though, “Not long, I saw him walking up to the palace-that was why I came in, to tell you,” Fili said, running a hand absentmindedly along his moustache braids. Bilbo hadn’t noticed him arrive but then again he hadn’t exactly been paying attention.  
“Good, now let’s get him into my chambers. He needs to rest his leg,” Thorin said.  
“I am still here, you know,” Bilbo complained but no one paid him any attention. 

By the time they’d reached Thorin's chambers and Bilbo had been put unceremoniously onto a sofa and Oin had caught up with them his leg was really starting to hurt. Not the muffled pain that was mostly hidden by adrenaline of the first few minutes nor the throbbing as he was taken up to the mountain, now that he was beginning to focus on the pain it kept getting worse.  
“Oin?” He asked.  
“Yes, Bilbo?” He replied, not looking up from the massive bag he was rifling through.  
“Can I have some pain relief? My leg is really starting to bother me now,” Oin didn't reply, just tossed him a vial of murky brown liquid at him which Bilbo barely caught, “Thank you!”  
It tasted disgusting but his leg soon started to hurt less which just left him to worry about Thorin who was still glaring off into the flickering fire. Bilbo felt as though he should say something though he had no idea where to even begin, he was certainly starting to feel guilty now, regardless of the fact that the only reason he was out there in the first place was as a favour to him. 

Oin soon set to work setting his leg back in place which was an incredibly painful process even with the potion he’d taken. Once that was done his leg was rubbed with herbs to prevent infection setting into the various cuts and scrapes and a splint was put on he was finally able to try and speak to Thorin.  
“I do apologise for worrying you so much, however I don't apologise for going into the forest. I stayed out too late and that boar certainly didn't help but-”  
“What?” Bilbo tensed, he hadn’t mentioned the boar, had he? “What boar?”  
“Well, I saw a boar while I was out there and it chased me so I climbed a tree to get away from it. Falling out of the tree was how I broke my leg, in fact,” he explained.  
“Yet you say that you won't apologise for going into the forest? Boars are incredibly dangerous beasts, it takes a team of five Dwarves to kill one and even then injuries and even death can and do happen,” He was speaking with impassioned authority and Bilbo got a taste of what it would be like to see Thorin as a King and not just a friend.  
“I was only trying to help you like you asked me to,” he didn't mean to sound like a petulant child but he did feel that way.  
He just scowled but didn’t reply to Bilbo, “Dwalin,” he said after a moment, “make sure he gets back to his quarters safely. I have other business.”  
Dwalin nodded as Thorin swept out of the room grandly, not sparing Bilbo a glance. 

Bilbo kept quiet after that, his run in with Thorin leaving him emotional and drained-never mind his leg. He was soon allowed to go back to his rooms in the upper quarter of Erebor, the place closest to exit. He slept well that night though when he woke up he was immediately struck with thoughts of his argument with Thorin; now that some time had passed he could see where he was coming from and it made him even more annoyed. 

As he went through the motions of making his breakfast and second breakfast as he’d slept later than he usually did he thought about what he could do to get more flowers now that he’d broken his leg and couldn't go galavanting around in the forest anymore. He had a fair few seeds already and he didn’t have that much time to plant them if they were to grow before Thranduil came to Erebor but he knew he’d need help if he was to get it done. 

Sitting down without pain turned out to be an almost impossible task but as he sat and ate it did give him time to think and food had always helped him in that endeavour. It wasn’t as though planting seeds was some incredibly difficult task, it could easily be shown to others. In fact, he was certain that he could persuade Dwalin to issue him with a few guards to help him, if only to stop him from breaking his other leg.

It took a little more persuading than he had thought it would to get a few guards off of Dwalin due to the fact that they were already beginning to prepare for Thranduil’s visit in a few months time. The guards would be needed if there were any accidents while putting up the thousands of crystals that would soon decorate the entirety of the mountain, reflecting fire in shafts of colour. He’d seen it before for various festivals and feasts that were held in Erebor, however he never grew tired of it and it’s ethereal beauty. It even rivaled and mirrored Elven architecture and taste, though he’d never tell any of the Dwarves, least of all Thorin, that. Regardless, that left him with very few options as to how he’d find the help to plant all of his seeds. 

With first and second breakfast eaten Bilbo set off for the main market, hoping to either find Dwalin or some other high ranking guard so he could ask for some help. When he arrived at the market he found it in chaos, what seemed like hundreds of workers were rushing around at high speeds setting up all the decorations. He was struck by how prepared Erebor was for their impending visit and the thought occurred to him that if Thranduil knew how much in advance of his visit they were preparing just in an effort to impress him, his already monstrous ego would grow that much bigger.

Dwalin was nowhere to be found but Bilbo could see Balin with his arms full of scrolls overseeing the placement of the decorations. He was yelling which was what had drawn Bilbo’s attention to him. Bilbo walked all the way over to him and was just contemplating letting out a loud cough to let Balin know he was there when the older Dwarf noticed him.  
“Oh Bilbo! Good to see you on your feet, even if it is with the help of the crutch. Did you need any help?” He asked.  
“Well...I need to plant my seeds now if the flowers are going to be ready for Thranduil’s visit. And I was wondering if anyone could be spared to help me plant the seeds as it would greatly speed the process,” Bilbo explained.  
“I’ll see what I can do, I think I should be able to spare a few of my less trained guards. How long do you think you’ll be needing them for?”  
Bilbo hummed to himself in thought, “I should think no longer than three days at the most, but that’s mostly because I’ll need help with getting the soil ready and setting up the water distribution system.”  
“I should think that shouldn’t be a problem, especially as we’ll need those flowers just as much as everything else,” He replied, already calling over a harried looking guard and addressing him in clipped Khuzdul. The guard looked over to Bilbo and he couldn’t tell what his feelings were about whatever Balin was telling him as he had absolutely no expression on his face. After a moment extended by awkwardness of just looking at each other the guard spoke.  
“I’ll get some guards for you, Master Baggins. Do you need them now?”  
“What better time to start than the present?” He replied.  
The guard nodded in reply and walked off, presumably to get some more guards. Bilbo was just about to go and sit on a nearby wall to rest his feet when the guard returned with five other Dwarves in tow. 

Bilbo felt more important than he’d ever felt before in his life as he was leading his own small retinue of guards. As they made their way up to the mountains Bilbo could tell that everyone was watching with interest, after all it wasn’t every day that the hobbit lead an entire retinue of guards up to the top of the mountain where no one ever went. Once they reach the top of the mountain Bilbo set about telling what to do, it took a little time but eventually they settled into a routine. 

Over the next few days Bilbo and the guards that he was assigned managed to plant the majority of the seeds that he had gathered from Dale; progress was much quicker than he thought they would and even within a few days the seeds began to sprout which promised good things for when Thranduil arrived. Certainly when you told Balin of his progress he seemed impressed, though that could have easily been because Dwarves have no natural affinity for growing things, not like the Hobbits had; and though Bilbo was no master gardener he had a certain knack for it. In fact having his own gardening project again was cheering him up no end and he began to realise that what he had thought was homesickness was mostly just him missing gardening. And now that he was gardening again he found that he didn’t miss the Shires as much anymore, though of course the rolling hills of his home would always call to a small part of his soul he found that his home was now here in the Mountain with his friends. 

The time began to pass more and more quickly and Bilbo soon found that the day of Thranduil’s visit was drawing ever closer. Thorin and Balin were becoming anxious and it was rubbing off on the entire Kingdom, The energy within the mountain was similar to the anxious buzzing of a bee’s wings, what with everyone bustling about, rushing to get everything done in time. Though on the day of the Elvenking’s visit the entirety of Erebor seemed to come together as one in order to give off the best impression that they could, not wanting to seem like the desperate Dwarves they had been when they were begging him for help after Smaug’s attack all those years ago. Bilbo knew that Thorin felt the most pressure to impress the Elvenking, though no one had any need to worry. The Mountain was decorated so beautifully that surely Mahal himself was looking on with pride, the rock was inlaid with metals and gems of every variety and colour, most of which Bilbo had never seen before and they all shone as brightly as the stars. As Bilbo led his small group of guard up and out of the mountain where he had his garden to plant the flowers he looked in awe at everything, even he could see how beautiful it all was so surely Thranduil will have to as well. 

Once they had reached the plot of land Bilbo found himself at a loss as to what to do. Of course he knew what needed to be done and in what order but what he wasn’t as confident with was how he was going to get all the guards to do what he said, not that he thought they’d act like naughty school children but equally if he didn’t project the right air of authority nothing was going to happen.  
“Right!” He shouted too loudly before coughing awkwardly and leaning more heavily against his crutches, “So, as you can see this is the plot of land that we’ll be growing our flowers on. The soil isn’t brilliant at the moment so we’ll need to add fertiliser before planting any seeds, also because rain can’t be relied upon we’ll need to set up something to distribute water to all the flowers.”  
“Understood,” Said one of the guards.  
“Good, um, what is your name? I think we’ll all need to be introduced to each other to make this arrangement properly work.”  
Once everyone was introduced the work began. It wasn’t terribly hard work, though it certainly was repetitive, and soon they were done for the day, only made to retreat back into the mountain by the setting sun. Bilbo decided they’d start early the next morning so as to have more time to get more done. 

The days started to fade into each other as the soil was tilled, the seeds were planted and tended to. All there was to do was wait which Bilbo was used to, however Thorin was not.  
“When will they be ready?”  
“In about two weeks.”  
“Thranduil will be here in two weeks!” He spluttered.  
Bilbo sighed, “That's the point, they’d start to wilt if they’re ready too early.”  
“Well this certainly isn’t helping my blood pressure.”  
“Honestly, it’s fine! Just focus on what you need to do and leave the flowers to me,” Bilbo tried to be reassuring but judging from the look on Thorin’s face he didn’t do a very good job.  
Thorin huffed, looking down at an new ornate ring that Bilbo had noticed the moment he saw him, “If anything goes wrong it all falls on me. Mahal knows that Elvish git is just waiting to find something wrong and I’m not about to give him the satisfaction.”  
“Just calm down, Thorin. I have a feeling Balin’s about to show up and you don’t want to see the emissary from Dale while in a bad mood.”  
“Balin’s bringing the emissary from Dale?” Thorin looked nervous before asking suspiciously and Bilbo nodded, “How do you know this, exactly?”  
He tapped the side of his nose coyly, “A Hobbit has their secrets…”  
Thorin didn’t deem that worthy of a reply and just stomped off, presumably to find Balin. Bilbo let out a snigger once Thorin was out of ear shot, he appreciated how busy he must be and how much pressure all of this planning must cause him but even so Bilbo found all this fuss that the entirety of Erebor was going through incredibly unnecessary. 

After that Thorin mostly left Bilbo alone to his own devices, only showing up once more to ‘oversee’ what was going on, though the look of complete bewilderment told Bilbo all he needed to know. 

The flowers grew beautifully and soon Bilbo had to ask Balin for even more guards in order to harvest all of the flowers and set them in time for the Elvenking’s visit. He had spent the past two weeks planning out where all the flowers would go, he even managed to make his way around the entire mountain to plan everything out with the aid of a stick as his leg still troubled him slightly. Despite the lofty nature of his plans the sheer stubbornness of the combined pettiness of every Dwarf in the mountain meant that flowers covered the entirety of the main entrance as well as the marketplace leading up the palace as well as the palace itself. 

When the day of Thranduil’s visit finally arrived Bilbo found himself awake before the sun rose and rushing around trying to make sure that his artist vision hadn’t been destroyed in the night. He had been having a reoccuring nightmare of the flowers all wilting overnight for the past week and he needed to check on them now if only to save his heart. Fortunately for him, everything was just as he remembered it though he now found himself with a good few hours to kill before the Elvenking arrived. Bilbo thought about going up to the palace to see how Thorin was doing but thought better of it, Thorin was likely to be in a worse state than anyone else and he didn’t need Bilbo to add to the immense amount of anxiety he was likely already feeling. So instead of going to the palace he decided to make his way back to the marketplace where he had begun his double checking of his floral display, when he got there he found that it was now bustling with activity and it didn’t take him long to spot someone he knew.  
“Bilbo! There you are! I’ve heard it from a reliable source that you’ve been rushing around the mountain like nobody’s business,” Bofur hollered, bounding up.  
“Who exactly is this ‘reliable source’?” Bilbo asked, chuckling.  
“Kili. Thorin sent him off to make sure that all the decorations were in order,” He said before continuing in a stage whisper, “though I think that was mostly to get Kili out of his hair.”  
“I don’t blame him if that was the case, Kili can be a handful,”  
Bofur nodded in agreement, “Are you excited?” He asked after a pause as they looked on as six heavily set Dwarves pushed a huge cart filled to the brim with rope out of the marketplace, the rope was probably used to pull all of those crystals into place Bilbo mused.  
“Hmmm? Yes, though I’m finding that I’m far too exhausted to be too excited,” He said.  
“I can certainly understand that, it’s been pandemonium amongst us trade lot, having to get all the decorations for the Crown ready as well as our regular orders. That’s without even mentioning that every single Dwarf in the mountain wants to look their best and has ordered new clothes and hair beads and weapons-I shuddered to think what Falyira must be going through, she’s the seamstress five stores down from me.”  
“Good business, though,” Bilbo said.  
“Aye it is at that, though I have a sneaking feeling that once his royal ponciness has left the entire mountain will take the next day off to rest. In fact, I think it should become an annual holiday ‘Recover From Thranduil Day’, has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Bofur laughed.  
“I suppose so. Though this whole visit from Thranduil is meant to be the beginning of a new era of friendship between our two kingdoms,” Bilbo explained, finding it difficult to contain his mirth.  
“You’re right but I still think that’s he’s a massive tosser.”  
“That’s your personal opinion, though given that I will need to butter Thranduil up I think that I’ll continue to think the best of him if it’s all the same to you.”  
“Your loss,” He snorted, “the rest of us will be having a lot of fun. Come on! A whole bunch of us have decided to have a bit of a booze up before the main event begins.”  
“Count me in, I need time to relax before everything starts up again. Though I won’t be drinking, I need to keep my wits about me,” Bilbo said.

Having time to relax did Bilbo the world of good and the time began to fly by instead of crawling by at a mourner’s pace as it had been doing since he woke up. Eventually it was time for Bilbo to make his way to the palace to meet with Thorin before Thranduil was due to arrive, the Elvenking was scheduled to arrive at midday though Balin suspected that he would arrive earlier so they were supposed to be ready an hour before, just to be safe. 

The entire palace was in uproar as Bilbo arrived, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t seem to be in the middle of something very important and stressful. The air thrummed with tension and at the centre of it all was Thorin who had never looked more regal or more bloodthirsty which, given what the two of them had lived through, was saying something. The time passed by in an odd mix horrifically slow and far too fast but soon enough a horn sounded in the distance.  
“He’s here…” Thorin murmured and Bilbo shouldn’t have been able to hear him except that the whole room, which not three seconds ago had been humming with noise was deadly silent, “Everyone! Into position!”

It didn’t take Thranduil along with his entourage long to make their way through the outer gate of Erebor and by the time they were on the other side the entire Royal party including Bilbo was there to greet them.  
“Your Highness, I hope that your trip was pleasant,” Thorin said and Bilbo was impressed by how calm he was about the whole situation, not five minutes ago he’s been running his hands till they turned red.  
“It was certainly uneventful which in times like these is the best that can be expected.”  
“Very true…” Thorin looked like he’d run out of things already and Bilbo was weighing up whether it was appropriate for him to step in when Balin luckily beat him to it.  
“We have a feast prepared in the palace. As you can see Erebor is currently in the process of being renovated and, if I do say so myself, all the citizens here have done exemplary job of bringing Erebor back to its former glory. You’ll be able to see this most clearly in the palace which had been left to decay for decades but now is possibly even better than before with the combined artisanal efforts of both the Dwarves here and the Men down in Dale,” Balin was rambling and Bilbo would have been inclined to think it rude but he knew how such things went by now, the host would have to brag about themselves as much as possible to put themselves in the best light possible and Thranduil didn’t seem out off by it in the least.  
“I can see that, most certainly this city looks much better than it had done when you arrived,” Thranduil replied, surveying what he could see. Bilbo followed his gaze which was settled firmly on the wreaths of flowers strategically placed above the entrance, a warm glow settled inside him and he fought down a smug grin.  
“Yes, well you haven’t seen anything yet,” Thorin said, looking slightly flustered.  
“Of course not,” Thranduil actually seemed like he was trying to defuse the situation which pleased Bilbo greatly, “I’m just at the main entrance. I’m sure there is yet more splendour waiting inside.”  
Thorin nodded and the atmosphere relaxed ever so slightly, Bilbo could even see that Thranduil’s servants breathing a sigh of relief. With that everyone began to walk into the city. The entirety of Erebor looked to be gathered around, leaning over balconies and waving banners, Bilbo could feel the eyes on him and he could only imagine what it’s like for the two Kings at the centre of all this. Bilbo watched Thranduil’s face along with everyone else in Erebor as they made their way to the palace, the light that was reflected from the crystals shone in the Elvenking’s eyes and even Bilbo could tell he was impressed by the display. The flowers seemed to do a great deal as well and though Mirkwood wasn’t exactly a floral paradise like Rivendell Thranduil was an Elf and Elves and Hobbits will always share a love of nature. 

A whole retinue of guards, resplendent in armour awaited them all lined up in front of the palace. The only thing this whole display could be compared to was the New Year festival which Bilbo had seen Erebor celebrate a few months ago. Though the atmosphere then was celebratory whereas now it felt more like the entire Kingdom was putting its best collective foot forward, not even a baby cried as they made their way to the palace, not that Bilbo blamed them. Given the history between the two Kingdoms no one was keen to look a fool in front of Thranduil. 

Just as the whole visit was looking to be one, long and arduous game of “Who’s the better King?” the food arrived. Bilbo knew from experience at awkward family dinners that a good mug of ale and a hearty meal could fix even the worst rifts between people.  
“Let’s have a toast!” Thorin called out, standing up.  
“A toast!” The rest of hall echoed.  
“To new friends and new ventures, may our two Kingdoms prosper,” Thorin continued.  
Thranduil stood up, raising his chalice, “To new friends!”


End file.
